A Murder for Miss Hortense
Miss Hortense #1
By Mel Pennant
ISBN 9780593701621
Author’s website: melpenant.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
Summary
Death has come to her doorstep . . .
Retired nurse, avid gardener, renowned cake maker and fearless sleuth Miss Hortense has lived in Bigglesweigh, a quiet Birmingham suburb, since she emigrated from Jamaica in 1960. She takes great pride in her home, starching her lace curtains bright white, and she can tell if she’s being short-changed on turmeric before she’s taken her first bite of a beef patty. Thirty-five years of nursing have also left her afraid of nobody, be they a local drug dealer or a priest, and an expert in deciphering other people’s secrets with just a glance.
Miss Hortense uses her skills to investigate the investments of the Pardner network – a special community of Black investors, determined to help their people succeed. But when an unidentified man is found dead in one of the Pardner’s homes, a bible quote noted down beside his body, Miss Hortense’s long buried past comes rushing back to greet her, bringing memories of the worst moment of her life, one which her community has never let her forget.
It is time for Miss Hortense to solve a mystery that will see her, and the community she loves, tested to their limits.
Review
The recent murder of an “acquaintance” of Miss Hortense shakes up her life and those around the community of Bigglesweigh, while unearthing a series of murders that occurred thirty years ago and were never solved.
A Murder for Miss Hortense was an interesting and entertaining read. Miss Hortense is a sixty-something-year-old woman, a retired nurse by day and an investigator by night. For the last 30 years, she has helped the black community of Bigglesweigh get justice for crimes committed against them, even when the authorities don’t seem to take them seriously. Even with all her hard work, Miss Hortense was shunned by the community after a case went wrong and her friend died.
At the begging of the story, the book takes a moment to explain Miss Hortense and the Pardner’s background, while also telling a bit of the history of Jamaican immigration to UK during the Windrush Era.
This story has many characters, some of them are close friends and allies of Miss Hortense, such as Miss Blossom, who gossips and brings information from the Pardner to Miss Hortense, and Mr. Fitz, who helped Miss Hortense investigate cases many years ago and even now. Miss Constance, the current Pardner Lady who opens many questions with her death. Then there is Sonia, a strange woman who shows up at Miss Constance’s house and finds a second mysterious dead body. Many characters have motives to kill for wealth, revenge, or just evil.
At first glance, you will think that it is just one mystery: why did the Lady Pardner die, and was it murder? But as the story goes on, it unfolds into a bigger mystery linked to the past. Most of all, I liked the character of Miss Hortense; she understands that she would not make everyone happy but also knows that justice is necessary. She has sharp eyes that see more than a regular person, and her way of thinking reminds me of Sherlock Holmes; she is just missing a Watson.
Another thing that I liked about A Murder for Miss Hortense is that it comes with recipes for the meals or dishes Miss Hortense made during the story to help think and process the information she was gathering.
Given the revival of the unresolved case, we get to see flashbacks of how the Pardner was formed, the life the members had in the 1960s, and the events that led to the death of a member of the Pardner and the shunning of Miss Hortense. I think these flashbacks were added at the right moments throughout the narrative and provided the necessary background information
A Murder for Miss Hortense was a fun story, it was exciting to learn what happened to Miss Constance and who was responsible for the unsolved case. If you like mysteries, this is a story that you must read.
